Singapore
Basics Singapore has three mobile operators: * SingTel '''Mobile * '''StarHub * M1 SingTel is market leader, Starhub is the second position, and M1 is the third. Coverage and speed is excellent in the city on all three networks. 2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 900 and 2100 MHz, and 4G LTE has started on all three providers on 1800 and 2600 MHz (with 900 MHz additionally on SingTel) and is available for prepaid without surcharge. In 2015 LTE covers already 99% of the city outdoors and the MRT (metro/subway) on every provider. 2G is planned to be shut down in April 1, 2017. In Singapore you have to show a photo ID to purchase a SIM card for registration. This can be done at any 7-Eleven or Cheers branch and takes some minutes. Be aware that you will be charged for incoming calls too in Singapore, like in the US, if it is not included in your plan. 'SingTel '''Mobile SingTel Mobile by the SingTel Group is the biggest provider in town and has a market share of about 45 %. The Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. is one of the largest mobile network operators in Southeast Asia. It has a coverage of 99% for 3G and 4G/LTE: Singtel 3G 4G coverage map '''Availability' Their prepaid product is called "hi!card" and sold in very different start-up packs which are now all on 4G/LTE too. They are available at retailers like SingTel stores (locator), 7-Eleven, Sheng Siong Supermarkets, Cheers, SingPost and other authorized dealers, except these SIM cards which are only sold at Changi Airport. * for S$ 8 with S$ 10 credit valid for 90 days, in mini size only. This card is only given out only in promotions and rarely sold in the city. * for S$ 15 with S$ 18 credit valid for 120 days, in mini or micro size * for S$ 20 with 5 GB of data valid for 7 days, in mini, micro and nano size, no voice ore text included * for S$ 28 with S$ 28 credit vaild for 180 days, in mini, micro or nano size, available exclusively at their outlet at Changi Airport (RHB Bank Currency Exchange Counters) * for S$ 38 with S$ 38 credit valid for 180 days and 1 GB valid for 7 days, in mini, micro and nano size, available at Changi Airport and retailers * for S$ 50 with 5 GB data valid for 7 days, in mini, micro or nano size, available exclusively at Changi Airport. You may notice that you can't get the best deals at the airport (their outlet is at RHB Bank Currency Exchange counters), better go to a SingTel shop in town Singtel Store Locator or a post office. Top-ups Top ups can be made with hi!top-up cards sold all over town in the stores mentioned above and at 7-Eleven, Cheers, Sheng Siong Supermarkets, Shop N Save, Caltex service stations, SPC, AXS Stations, DBS, POSB and OCBC ATMs (with local cards only), iNETS Kiosks, Kopitiam foodcourts. SAM, vPOST among others. You can check your balance by dialing *139#. These top-up cards are available: * S$ 10, value S$ 11.50 valid for 90 days, free incoming calls for 10 days * S$ 20, value S$ 23 valid for 180 days, free incoming calls for 20 days * S$ 50, value S$ 57.50 valid for 120 days, free incoming calls for 20 days, available only at Changi Airport and SingTel shops * S$ 15 bonus card, value S$ 30 for calls and texts only, no data, valid for 30 days * S$ 22 datatalk card: value S$ 12 international calls, 250 MB data, 120 local minutes voice, free incoming calls and 500 local SMS valid for 30 days * S$ 28 superhot card: value S$ 28 for internat. calls and texts and S$ 100 local calls and texts, valid for 50 days Default data rate Their standard data rate outside of packages is 5.4c for 10 KB if you started with a S$ 8 hi! card and 2.7c per 10 KB if you started with a higher hi!card. So buy packages. 'Data feature packs' Singtel features normal data plans and app specific plans. To activate any data plan dial *100# or access http://www.singtel.com/hi (free). Laptop users send an SMS with '1' to 727050. The plans don't renew themselves automatically and you have to resubscribe. If you don't (re)subscribe to a plan or used all your included data you pay the default rate (see above). The following social data plans allow you to use data trough a specific app or website. All plans end at 23:59 after the end of the validility period. Don't forget to resubscribe. All social plans have a fair use cap at 1 GB. Tourist SIM card Finally Singtel also released a tourist SIM called hi!Tourist SIM. It comes in two sizes: * $ 15: 100 GB data, 500 mins local calls, 30 mins internatl. calls, valid for 5 days * $ 30: 100 GB data, unlimited local calls and SMS, 90 mins internatl. calls, valid for 10 days Note, that internatl. SMS are not included and that these cards can't be topped up or anyway extended in time. They are available at Singtel Shops, exclusive retailers, at all terminals of Changi Airport, at selected 7-Eleven and Cheers and ferry terminals and causeway points. Technical settings You can dial *43327 for automatic configuration or type in the following configuration for yourself: * APN: hicard * Call *100*1# to check your card balance and expiry More info Website: http://info.singtel.com/personal/phones-plans/mobile/singtel-prepaid 'StarHub' StarHub by local StarHub Ltd. is the 2nd provider in Singapore giving good speeds and coverage in 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE reaching a nationwide coverage in 2013. StarHub is the local partner of Vodafone and the only provider of HD Voice. Access to 4G/LTE is free as ongoing promotion, but needs to be activated. They offer the biggest variety of prepaid products right now on the market. Availability Their prepaid product is called "Happy Prepaid SIM" and sold in these different start-up packs in mini or micro sizes: * for S$ 8 with S$ 10 credit valid for 90 days. This card is only given out in promotions and rarely sold in the city. * for S$ 15 with S$ 18 credit valid for 180 days with 100 GB of data for 5 days * for S$ 50 with S$ 50 credit valid for 180 days and 100 GB for 5 days and 5 GB of data for 30 days, sold exclusively at UOB Foreign Exhange at Changi Airport The S$ 15 card is sold at StarHub shops StarHub Shop Locator, their exclusive partners, at 7-Eleven stores, Cheers, SingPost and Changi Airport at UOB Foreign Exchange. Happy Tourist Card Their tourist SIM is only available at these selected locations: Shops to buy the Tourist SIM. It is sold for S$ 32 start-up and includes: S$ 18 credit, 1.2 GB data, Line and WeChat not debited from data allowance, 4G/LTE without surcharge, 500 local SMS, 120 mins local outgoing calls, free incoming calls, all valid for 30 days. Top-ups Their top-up cards are sold all over town in convenience stores mentioned above and direct top-ups at OCBC and POSB ATMs (local cards only) amongst others: * S$ 8, with S$ 8 credit, valid for 60 days * S$ 18, with S$ 20 credit, valid for 180 days and 30 MB data * S$ 28, with S$ 100 local calls and text and S$ 28 international calls and texts and 10 MB data vaild for 50 days * S$ 17, with 120 min local calls, 500 local SMS and 200 MB data valid for 30 days * S$ 25, with 120 min local calls, 500 local SMS and 400 MB data valid for 50 days 'Default data rate' Default data is 7c per 10 KB. Data feature packs For social media: * WeChat: S$ 0.40 per day, S$ 6 per month * Line: S$ 0.40 per day, S$ 6 per month To subscribe type *123*3#, select 3 for social messaging and the messenger. All plans autonew, if not stopped. Fair use policy of 1 GB per day applies. To subscribe type *123*3*1*1# and follow instuctions. All plans auto-renew if not stopped. All SIM Cards are on 4G/LTE too. For 4G/LTE, you need to activate the free 4G/LTE Booster plan: dial *123*3*4*1#. Data only SIM Furthermore, they sell a data-only SIM called "Prepaid Internet SIM" in mini and micro size for data and text only, no voice. Start-up price is S$ 18 with 2 GB data valid for 5 days. Max. speed is 7.2 Mbps. * 1 Day: $ 6, 2 GB * 3 Days: $ 16, 6 GB, max. 2 GB per day * 7 days: $ 25, 14 GB, max. 2 GB per day * 30 days: $28, 2 GB for 30 days * 60 days: $32, 3.5 GB for 60 days Subscription is on your online Internet SIM account. Technical settings * APN: shwap /or/ shinternet * You may need to place a first call to activate data on the voice & data plans More info Website: http://www.starhub.com/personal/mobile/prepaid-plans.html 'M1 '(formerly MobileOne) M1 (previously known as MobileOne) is the third largest national provider in Singapore. Coverage on 2G, 3G and 4G is on par with the other providers. M1 has launched its LTE service for prepaid in 2013 charging no extra for using 4G. They claim theoretical speeds of up to 300 Mbit/s, coming down to 30 Mbit/s in practice. LTE is activated on every SIM card automatically. Availability Their prepaid product is called "M Card" and sold in different start-up packs in mini, micro and sometimes nano size: * for S$ 5 with S$ 6 credit and 10 MB of data valid for 3 days. This card is only given out in promotions and is not generally sold in the city. * for S$ 15 with S$ 18 credit and 100 GB of data vaild for 5 days The S$ 15 is sold at M1 shops M1.Shop Locator, their exclusive distributors, authorised money changers and retailers, 7-Eleven, Cheers, Fairprice Xpress, SingPost among others. Prepaid Travel SIM Card Their tourist card is sold in two different offers: * S$ 30: including 1 GB of data, free incoming calls, S$ 15 for internation. calls and texts, $ 15 for local calls and texts, all valid for 7 days * S$ 50: including 5 GB of data valid for 7 days, free incoming calls, S$ 25 for intern. calls and texts, $ 25 for local calls and texts vaild for 30 days. It's available in mini, micro and nano size at any M1 shop (see shop locator above) or in all three arrival halls at Changi Airport. Top-ups Their top-up cards are sold all over town in convenience stores mentioned above and electronic top-ups at AXS stations and SingPost with a bonus amongst others: * S$ 17, with 200 MB data, 500 local SMS, 120 mins local calls, free incoming calls, valid for 30 days * S$ 23, with 350 MB data, S$ 12 value, 500 local SMS, 120 mins local calls, free incoming calls, valid for 50 days * S$ 15, with S$ 40 for local calls and SMS, S$ 15 for intern. calls and SMS, free incoming calls within 10 days, valid for 50 days * S$ 28, with S$ 100 for local calls and SMS, S$ 30 for intern. calls and SMS, valid for 50 days * S$ 18, with S$ 21 value, free incoming calls within 20 days, valid for 180 days All top-ups include 10 MB of data valid for 3 days. 'Default data rate' Standard rate outside package is S$ 0.02 per KB. 'Data feature packs' Their data packs are called "Sunsurf Data Plans" To activate type *100*3# or do it on your online account. Unlike Starhub, packages don't auto-renew. Multiple subscriptions are allowed and the remaining data will be rolled over as long as another subscription is made before the current plan expires. Maximum data balance for prepaid Sunsurf is up to 4 GB at any given time. Any data usage in excess of the bundled data will be charged at the default rate. Technical settings * for data to work, you need to place a first call for activation after putting in the new SIM or go to *100*3# and activate * APN: sunsurf * APN: sunsurf * check balance with #100*2*1# More InfoCategory:CountryCategory:AsiaCategory:Singapore Website: https://www.m1.com.sg/personal/mobile/prepaidmobile/mcard